Psalm 106
Complete Jewish Bible
106 Halleluyah!
Give thanks to Adonai; for he is good,
for his grace continues forever.
2 Who can express Adonai’s mighty doings
or proclaim in full his praise?
3 How happy are those who act justly,
who always do what is right!
4 Remember me, Adonai, when you show favor to your people,
keep me in mind when you save them;
5 so I can see how well things are going
with those whom you have chosen,
so that I can rejoice in your nation’s joy,
and glory in your heritage.
6 Together with our ancestors, we have sinned,
done wrong, acted wickedly.
7 Our ancestors in Egypt failed to grasp
the meaning of your wonders.
They didn’t keep in mind your great deeds of grace
but rebelled at the sea, at the Sea of Suf.
8 Yet he saved them for his own name’s sake,
to make known his mighty power.
9 He rebuked the Sea of Suf, and it dried up;
he led them through its depths as through a desert.
10 He saved them from hostile hands,
redeemed them from the power of the foe.
11 The water closed over their adversaries;
not one of them was left.
12 Then they believed his words,
and they sang his praise.
13 But soon they forgot his deeds
and wouldn’t wait for his counsel.
14 In the desert they gave way to insatiable greed;
in the wastelands they put God to the test.
15 He gave them what they wanted
but sent meagerness into their souls.
16 In the camp they were jealous of Moshe
and Aharon, Adonai’s holy one.
17 The earth opened up and swallowed Datan
and closed over Aviram’s allies.
18 A fire blazed out against that group,
the flames consumed the wicked.
19 In Horev they fashioned a calf,
they worshipped a cast metal image.
20 Thus they exchanged their Glory
for the image of an ox that eats grass!
21 They forgot God, who had saved them,
who had done great things in Egypt,
22 wonders in the land of Ham,
fearsome deeds by the Sea of Suf.
23 Therefore he said that he would destroy them,
[and he would have,] had not Moshe his chosen one
stood before him in the breach
to turn back his destroying fury.
24 Next, they rejected the beautiful land,
they didn’t trust his promise;
25 and they complained in their tents,
they didn’t obey Adonai.
26 Therefore, raising his hand, he swore to them
that he would strike them down in the desert
27 and strike down their descendants among the nations,
dispersing them in foreign lands.
28 Now they joined themselves to Ba‘al-P‘or
and ate meat sacrificed to dead things.
29 Thus they provoked him to anger with their deeds,
so that a plague broke out among them.
30 Then Pinchas stood up and executed judgment;
so the plague was checked.
31 That was credited to him as righteousness,
through all generations forever.
32 They angered him at the M’rivah Spring,
and Moshe suffered on their account;
33 for when they embittered his spirit,
[Moshe] spoke up without thinking.
34 They failed to destroy the peoples,
as Adonai had ordered them to do,
35 but mingled with the nations
and learned to follow their ways.
36 They went on to serve their idols,
which became a snare for them.
37 They even sacrificed their sons
and their daughters to demons.
38 Yes, they shed innocent blood,
the blood of their own sons and daughters,
whom they sacrificed to Kena‘an’s false gods,
polluting the land with blood.
39 Thus they were defiled by their deeds;
they prostituted themselves by their actions,
40 For this Adonai’s fury blazed up against his people,
and he detested his heritage.
41 He handed them over to the power of the nations,
and those who hated them ruled over them.
42 Their enemies oppressed them
and kept them in subjection to their power.
43 Many times [God] rescued them,
but they kept making plans to rebel.
Thus they were brought low
by their own wrongdoing.
44 Still he took pity on their distress
whenever he heard their cry.
45 For their sakes he kept in mind his covenant
and in his limitless grace relented,
46 causing them to be treated with compassion
by all who had taken them captive.
47 Save us, Adonai our God!
Gather us from among the nations,
so that we can thank your holy name
and glory in praising you.
48 Blessed be Adonai, the God of Isra’el,
from eternity past to eternity future.
Now let all the people say,
“Amen! Halleluyah!”
Psalm 106
International Standard Version
The Unfaithfulness of God’s People
106 Hallelujah!
Give thanks to the Lord,
since he is good,
for his gracious love exists forever.
2 Who can fully describe the mighty acts of the Lord
or proclaim all his praises?
3 How happy are those who enforce justice,
who live righteously all the time.
4 Remember me, Lord,
when you show favor to your people.
Visit us with your deliverance,
5 to witness the prosperity of your chosen ones,
to rejoice in your nation’s joy,
to glory in your inheritance.
6 We have sinned, along with our ancestors;
we have committed iniquity and wickedness.
7 In Egypt, our ancestors neither comprehended your awesome deeds
nor remembered your abundant gracious love.
Instead, they rebelled beside the sea, the Reed[a] Sea.
8 He delivered for the sake of his name,[b]
to make his power known.
9 He shouted at the Reed[c] Sea and it dried up;
and led them through the sea as though through a desert.
10 He delivered them from the power of their foe;
redeeming them from the power of their enemy.
11 The water overwhelmed their enemies,
so that not one of them survived.[d]
12 Then they believed his word
and sung his praise.
13 But they quickly forgot his deeds
and did not wait for his counsel.
14 They were overwhelmed with craving in the wilderness,
so God tested them in the wasteland.
15 God granted them their request,
but sent leanness into their lives.
16 They were envious of Moses in the camp,
and of Aaron, the holy one of the Lord.
17 The earth opened and swallowed Dathan,
closing over Abiram’s clan.
18 Then a fire burned among their company,
a flame that set the wicked ablaze.
19 They fashioned a calf at Horeb
and worshipped a carved image.
20 They exchanged their glory[e]
with the image of a grass-eating bull.
21 They forgot God their Savior,
who performed great things in Egypt—
22 awesome deeds in the land of Ham,[f]
astonishing deeds at the Reed[g] Sea.
23 He would have destroyed them
but for Moses, his chosen one,
who stood in the breach before him
to avert[h] his destructive wrath.
24 They rejected the desirable land,
and they didn’t trust his promise.
25 They murmured in their tents,
and didn’t listen to the voice of the Lord.
26 So he swore an oath concerning them—
that he would cause them to die in the wilderness,
27 to cause their children to perish among the nations
and be scattered among many[i] lands.
28 For they adopted the worship[j] of Baal Peor
and ate sacrifices offered to the dead.
29 They had provoked anger by their deeds,
so that a plague broke out against them.
30 But Phinehas intervened and prayed
so that the plague was restrained.
31 And it was credited to him as a righteous act,
from generation to generation—to eternity.
32 They provoked wrath at the waters of Meribah,
and Moses suffered[k] on account of them.
33 For they rebelled against him,[l]
so that he spoke thoughtlessly with his lips.
34 They never destroyed the people,
as the Lord had commanded them.
35 Instead, they mingled among the nations
and learned their ways.[m]
36 They worshipped[n] their idols,
and this became a trap for them.
37 They sacrificed their sons and daughters to demons.
38 They shed innocent blood—
the blood of their sons and daughters—
whom they sacrificed to the idols of Canaan,
thereby polluting the land with blood.
39 Therefore, they became unclean because of what they did;
they have acted like whores by their evil deeds.
40 The Lord’s anger burned against his people,
so that he despised his own inheritance.
41 He turned them over to domination by nations
where those who hated them ruled over them.
42 Their enemies oppressed them,
so that they were humiliated by their power.
43 He delivered them many times,
but they demonstrated rebellion by their evil plans;
therefore they sunk deep in their sins.
44 Yet when he saw their distress
and heard their cries for help,[o]
45 he remembered his covenant with them,
and so relented
according to the greatness of his gracious love.
46 He caused all their captors to show compassion toward them.
47 Deliver us, Lord our God,
gather us from among the nations
so we may praise your holy name
and rejoice in praising you.
48 Blessed are you, Lord God of Israel,
from eternity to eternity;
Let all the people say, “Amen!”
Hallelujah!
Footnotes
- Psalm 106:7 So MT; LXX reads Red
- Psalm 106:8 Or reputation
- Psalm 106:9 So MT; LXX reads Red
- Psalm 106:11 Or remained
- Psalm 106:20 I.e. their God
- Psalm 106:22 I.e. Egypt
- Psalm 106:22 So MT; LXX reads Red
- Psalm 106:23 Or turn back
- Psalm 106:27 The Heb. lacks many
- Psalm 106:28 Lit. they attached themselves with Baal Peor
- Psalm 106:32 Lit. and it was evil for Moses
- Psalm 106:33 Lit. against his spirit
- Psalm 106:35 Lit. deeds
- Psalm 106:36 Lit. served
- Psalm 106:44 The Heb. lacks help
Copyright © 1998 by David H. Stern. All rights reserved.
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